Phoenix-area homeless shelter provides help to youth

One by one, teenagers drift into a cramped room in downtown Tempe. The group looks like any other gathering of teens: eating, talking, checking messages on their cellphones.

But these young people find a refuge at the Tumbleweed Center during the day that they don't find elsewhere. They are homeless, some of the tens of thousands of young Arizonans who are without a permanent place to live or sleep.

Some sleep in shelters, many more find a temporary place to stay with friends or relatives, and a few end up on the street. Many form homeless street families, searching for a place to belong. Some are on their own, without parents or guardians caring for them.

All are part of a growing group of homeless youths that shelter operators and experts say are the less obvious victims of the recession.

When families lose a home because of foreclosure, young people sometimes become homeless along with their parents. In some cases, economic pressures exacerbate abuse, neglect or other problems at home that drive teens out on their own. Some are kicked out by parents who tire of caring for children who have become addicted to drugs, alcohol and are abusive or disrespectful.

Although minors who are without parents or guardians are supposed to be placed in foster care, aid groups say some prefer to live in the shadows, sleeping in cars or on friends' couches and fending for themselves. And for youths over 18 who live on their own, the tough job market has pushed more onto the streets. At a time when adult children struggle with joblessness, many would return home if they weren't estranged from their parents, who often are struggling financially, too.

"The least qualified get edged out of the job market, and often that's teens without any job experience," said Greg Periera, director of programs and shelters for the Valley's largest homeless complex, Central Arizona Shelter Services.

Growing problem

It's difficult to know how many homeless youths live in the Valley. In 2010, 420 people ages 18 to 25 stayed in a Valley shelter, according to CASS.That number is up from 317 the year before. But shelter directors believe thousands more stay elsewhere.

In 2009, 5,415 children 17 and younger experienced homelessness in Arizona and received services from non-profit agencies, according to the annual report of the Arizona Homelessness Coordination Office.

During the past school year, more than 24,550 Arizona students were homeless, a jump of 18 percent from the previous academic year and more than double the number in 2003, the office reported.

The soaring number of homeless youths is a result of the job-market crash two years ago during the Great Recession, as families lost their homes to foreclosure and jobs for younger workers disappeared.

"It's a growing problem," Periera said. "What we're seeing because of this down economy are more first-time homeless."

Many homeless youths end up during the day at the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development's sites in Tempe and Phoenix.

The facilities provide young people with basic support services, such as food, clothing, hygiene, laundry, showers, blankets and water.

"More importantly, we provide case-management services to help clients basically reach any goal the client is trying to complete," said Jana Smith, program manager for the Tumbleweed Tempe Youth Resource Center. That might be finishing high school or finding a job.

Case managers often help young people get copies of their birth certificates, Social Security cards and state-issued identified cards so they can apply for jobs.

Becoming homeless

No area is immune from the problem. Even wealthy parts of the Valley, such as south Chandler, are experiencing more homelessness among young adults. Foreclosures, job losses, unemployment and underemployment have fractured families, leaving some children to fend for themselves.

Although they often live miles away from their old homes, homeless kids can still attend their former schools under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which pays for students to be bused to their school even if they live outside its boundaries.

That allowed one student, a sophomore at Hamilton High School who played on the junior-varsity football team this fall, to continue attending the school in south Chandler despite sleeping on his aunt's couch in Mesa.

The 15-year-old student, who asked not to be identified, had been sleeping on relatives' sofas and floors for the past year, technically making him homeless.

He can't afford basic toiletries and clothes but gets them from the school's supply closet filled with soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash and assorted garments.

Dia Mundle, a social worker in the Chandler Unified School District, said the need is growing.

"We have a lot of homeless kids with the economy being so bad," Mundle said. "Last year, we had 563 (homeless) kids in the district. It's gotten bigger every year for the district. . . . People think Hamilton is a ritzy school, but we have so much poverty here. We have families who have lost everything, dads who had (investment) properties that didn't go well, an engineer who hasn't been employed for a year."

In the football player's case, homelessness came on slowly after his parents split up three years ago. His mother found a boyfriend who didn't want her son living with them. His mother made a choice.

"They wanted to be together," the boy said quietly. "The attention wasn't on me."

His father is in prison. His brothers and sisters have their own families and couldn't afford to take him in.

Getting help

In Tempe, young people at Tumbleweed can also take advantage of a 3-year-old program that pays the rent on an apartment to help them get on their feet.

It aims to teach homeless youths independent living skills while they pursue goals such as finishing high school, earning a GED or getting a job.

Tumbleweed drop-in centers are also a safe place to unwind, providing hot showers, meals, counseling and use of phones and computers.

For Amanda Pattison, a pregnant 21-year-old, Tumbleweed has been a godsend because she can eat, shower and charge her cellphone.

"This is the second time I've been homeless, and it's been for three months this time," she said.

At night, those 17 and younger can sleep in Tumbleweed's Open Hands Crisis Shelter in Phoenix. The Tempe Community Action Agency provides shelter for those 18 and older.

Eight months' pregnant, Pattison said she and her husband, Leigh Williamson, stay wherever they can in their sleeping bags.

"Right now, I just want to get off the streets and get a home of our own," she said.

Meagan Peterson, 19, said she was drawn to a shelter because she didn't like being on the streets. She and her 28-year-old fiance have stayed at the CASS center for adults. Peterson recently earned her high-school diploma from Compadre High School, an alternative high school.

"It was hard going to school living in the shelter, but I did it," she said.

It was harder living on the street.

"It was really hard just trying to get by," she said. "I was afraid. I saw people put knives to the throats of other people and get into big arguments."

Peterson couldn't find a job when she came to the Valley from Iowa a year ago, leading her to become homeless.

Amanda Pattison, 21, who is pregnant, sits down at the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development for a bite to eat and a laugh with program director Jana Smith. The program provides young people with basic support services, such as food and clothing.